Spicy Strawberry Lemonade

This spicy strawberry lemonade is a staple in our house. We blend up this lemonade to wow people at parties, and it is always a hit. Every single time we serve it.

I’m making this lemonade to serve at our annual Easter party this weekend, and I am going to be bold and predict it will be a huge crowd-pleaser again.

This is not just another homemade strawberry lemonade recipe. This spicy strawberry lemonade is super easy to make, but has a complex, mind-blowing depth of flavor that will seduce you with every sip.

What’s the secret to the fabulous flavor? The addition of red bell pepper. BE OPEN to this seemingly bizarre combination. It just works. Well, it more than works, it is absolutely incredible. The recipe adds 1/2 as medium red bell pepper. But, I add a whole bell pepper because I love the flavor so much. But, add to taste. Some people find 1 whole bell pepper a bit overpowering.

The Magic Of Strawberries and Red Bell Pepper

Those of you who’ve blended your way through The Blender Girl Smoothies book or made the Spicy Strawberry Sorbet would be familiar with my penchant for the strawberry bell pepper combo. I keep revisiting in one form or another with several recipes in my repertoire. Once you’ve tasted strawberries and bell pepper blended together, straight strawberries just taste flat.

One of my favorite smoothies in The Perfect Blend is the Red Basil Balsamic Blast smoothie utilizing a blend of berries, red bell pepper, tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar. It is unbelievably good. So, check that recipe out, too.

How Do You Make Strawberry Lemonade?

A basic traditional strawberry lemonade is made by blending water, fresh lemon juice, fresh ripe strawberries, and sugar. There are a ton of strawberry lemonade recipes out there, and most of them stick to this basic formula changing the ratio of water, lemon juice, strawberries, and sugar.

Some people add lemon zest or throw whole lemons into the mix to elevate the lemon flavor. There are a lot of “natural” and “sugar-free” strawberry lemonade recipes utilizing dates, pure maple syrup, honey, coconut nectar, or agave in place of cane sugar.

With this spicy strawberry lemonade recipe I’m using:

• 2 cups of filtered water
• 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups of fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup of diced red bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• A pinch of sea salt

Flavor Boosters For Strawberry Lemonade

Basic strawberry lemonade is delicious and refreshing. But, if you want to kick up the flavor, here are my go-to boosters

• 1/4  to 1/3 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh mint
• 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced rosemary
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate powder
• 2 tablespoons goji berries or 1 tablespoon goji powder
• 1 teaspoon camu powder
• 4 peeled kiwis

Use A Good Blender So You Don’t Have To Strain!

You can make this strawberry lemonade in any blender. But, with a conventional blender that doesn’t completely pulverize the ingredients you will need to strain the mixture with a fine mesh strainer in order to remove the strawberry seeds and fiber in order to get a texture that resembles commercial lemonade.

If you use a high-speed blender, you will get a smooth consistency and won’t need to strain the lemonade.

Those of you who watch The Blendaholic, cook from the short recipe videos on the Facebook page, Instagram, or YouTube, and are regular readers of my newsletter and blog would know that I use KitchenAid blenders.

KitchenAid is now making the best blenders in the world. Their Pro Line Series blender is their top-of-the-range high-speed blender which is the most powerful blender on the market. It is incredible.

The KitchenAid High Performance Blender Is Amazing!

If you want to save some money, but still want a really powerful high-speed blender, I absolutely love the KitchenAid High Performance blender. This high-speed blender has amazing power to pulverize even the most fibrous ingredients like nuts, seeds, dates, sun-dried tomatoes, and large frozen fruit.

Here’s the specs:

• 3.0 Peak HP motor
• Stainless Steel Assymmetric blade
• Variable Speed Dial from 1 to 9
• Die-Cast Metal Base and Controls
• Commercial-Grade Components
• 60oz BPA-Free Container
• Reinforced Container Lid that doesn’t warp
• Center Lid Cap that doubles as a measuring cup
• Tamper so you can guide ingredients, and make frozen cocktails, ice creams, nut butters, and thick cake batters.
• 10-Year Warranty

A Blender To Match Your Stand Mixer

I have a matte white model of the High Performance blender and it is stunning. It matches my stand mixer, toaster, food processor, kettle, and coffee machine. Yay! If you keep your stand mixer on the counter top like I do, there’s now a blender to match it!

Normally, high-speed blenders are really ugly, and don’t match anything else in your kitchen. Or, the blender has a beautiful design, and doesn’t work very well. With this KitchenAid blender, it’s the first time that we have style and substance in one machine. Hooray!

Check out the KitchenAid High Performance blender, and let me know what you think of this strawberry lemonade.

*I am a paid ambassador for KitchenAid blenders. But, my opinions are my own.

Other Lemonade Recipes You Will Love

Sugar-Free Fruit-Sweetened Lemonade
Ginger Lemonade with a Whole Lemon

Please let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments!

Your feedback is really important to me, and it helps me decide which recipes to post next for you.